


Poison and friendship

by deutschistklasse



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Childhood Friends, Friendship, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Inspired by Fanfiction, POV Mai (Avatar), Poison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27998556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deutschistklasse/pseuds/deutschistklasse
Summary: Azula knows what she knows and she needs a confidant. Mai is just perfect for a little talk about poisons and family. - Inspired by Chapter 23 in Fractures.
Relationships: Azula & Mai & Ty Lee, Azula & Mai (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 98





	Poison and friendship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EvieNyx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvieNyx/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Fractures](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20063656) by [EvieNyx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvieNyx/pseuds/EvieNyx). 



> One of my favorite fics is Fractures, and I like Mai and Azula's character in it.   
> I don't know if in my fic they are out of character or not for the events in Fractures. I don't know how Mai learned about poisons and why from Azula especially. I think we will have an answer eventually in the fic, because the author is really thorough. Anyway, I had a theory and so I wrote it. Hope you can enjoy it.  
> Have a nice day!
> 
> Warning: talks about poisons, referenced character death.

„I think my Grandfather was poisoned,” Azula confessed to Mai during their walk in the palace’s Main Garden, „and I think it was Mother who did it.”

Mai quickly glanced around. Ty Lee slept in the shadows of a cherry tree, and the guards stationed at the entrance were too far away to hear Azula’s accusation. It was just the two of them, standing face to face, Azula’s eyes burning with some unsaid emotion.

It was really weird hearing her speak about something so personal. She wore more masks than Mai ever could. What could have prompted Azula to speak about it? Her mind was racing, but she tried for a polite but disinterested tone.

„Do you have any evidence?”

„Do I need any? Grandfather died the night my brother was to be killed, and then Mother disappeared. And you know what? I helped.”

Mai didn’t recoil in shock, but it was just because she trained herself to remain expressionless and impassive even in the face of adversary or absurdity. This helped her on more than one occasion. She couldn’t appear weak. Not in front of Azula.

She kept the dismay out of her voice but seeing Azula’s eyes glint she knew that she wasn’t fully successful. Her friend clearly enjoyed the situation she put Mai in.

„You helped with what?”

 _Killing your Grandfather? Making your Mother disappear? And what was that about killing your brother?_ But Mai was smarter than to ask these questions from her.

She knew that Azula was calculating, driven by perfectionism and ambition. She liked to dominate her companions and more than anything she liked to torment Zuko when they were children, but she didn’t seem homicidal. Was that a misconception? Did she misinterpret Azula’s character?

„It’s a secret. Do you really want to know?”

„No. Not if it could get you or me in trouble.”

It was safer to include the Princess in that statement. Who knew, what Azula wanted to achieve? Was all of this a lie, the truth, or something in between? Azula’s words always had layers upon layers, even when she seemed blunt and direct. She didn’t always lie. The truth was sometimes the best way to manipulate people. And Azula was good with people. Mai not so much.

She must have given the correct answer because Azula smiled that soft, secret smile not many saw on her. It made her seem younger, reminding Mai of their childhood when they first befriended each other. She was selected from a few possible candidates, but their friendship after that was genuine.

Azula offered an escape from her boring life. She was one of the few people in Mai’s life who wanted her company and who asked for her opinion. She was the one who encouraged Mai to continue her training with knives when her parents vetoed any training with weapons. She thought the girls in her company should be able to defend themselves. It was understandable, the royal family was targeted almost weekly by assassination attempts.

„I appreciate your concern, but it won’t. Come with me.”

„And Ty Lee?”

„I don’t think she needs to know this. She won’t understand and I don’t want to upset her. Better let her sleep.”

 _You don’t give her enough credit._ But of course, it was again something Mai didn’t say.

It wasn’t her place to correct Azula’s assumptions about Ty Lee, but she knew that she was more than a bubbly, airheaded little girl. Ty Lee always saw more than the average people could. Her speech about auras and her positive thinking was annoying, but if you thought about her words, she was really insightful.

„Wouldn’t hurt her if we leave her alone?”

„Don’t worry. I will leave one of the guards with her. And anyway, she will forgive us. You know how she is.”

Mai didn’t like it, but Azula was the Princess, so she obeyed her request. She missed the old Azula, the girl who somewhere in these years gradually disappeared. That bright-eyed, passionate, confident, and always curious girl who wanted to know more even when it was forbidden knowledge, who knew what she wanted slowly lost herself.

First, the smiles became smirks, then her interest in their opinion weakened to the point that sometimes she was downright dismissive. As her fire became hotter and her movements more precise, she became colder, more closed-off, her confidence based now on her prowess with firebending. She always held grudges, but now she retaliated with more sharpness and cruelty in her words than before.

She didn’t hurt them physically and she sought out their company, but Mai didn’t think that they were true friends anymore. They were loyal to each other, but they were falling apart. They were allies who clung to an illusion, holding onto it until their hearts and fingers bleed. She dreaded the day when their friendship really broke. None of them would survive it unscathed.

Azula led her to the library, pushing the door open and ordering the librarian out. Then she unearthed from a pile of old and smelly scrolls in the back of the room one tied with a faded ribbon. She undid the tie, pointing to a paragraph on it.

„There it is. Do you see it? Concentrated sap from basilace seeds. It’s colorless and nearly odorless. It has a faint scent of something sweet, but nothing more. You can dissolve it in anything! It causes a fever and a rash, fainting, and death in an hour or so. It’s one of the fastest-acting poisons known in the Fire Nation. It doesn’t have a known cure. I think maybe Kenko berries could act as an antidote like with other poisons. They were sadly not planted in the gardens at the time, but don’t worry, I solved that issue.”

Mai was beginning to feel nauseated. Was the old Fire Lord really poisoned and by a family member no less? Was Azula’s mother a murderess and executed for it, or did she flee? Or was this just a conspiracy theory? She tried to find a handhold.

„But this isn’t evidence for your accusations. And with what had you helped?”

„Grandfather had a faint rash on the side of his neck, I saw it. And this scroll was in Mother’s room under the bed. I found it after the funeral. It was an interesting read and I didn’t want it lost, so I returned it to the library.” Azula rolled the scroll up and patted her chin with it. „And I warned my brother of Father’s and Grandfather’s plan. But he didn’t want to believe me, and then Mother almost punished me for upsetting Zuko. Then she went and did something against it. Zuko lived, Grandfather died, she disappeared and Father was crowned Fire Lord. This was the best for all of us.”

„The best?”

„Father is a great Fire Lord, much better than dear old Uncle could have been. And Mother is no more there to judge me or to coddle Zuko. She never cared for me anyway, just for her precious Zuzu. I don’t know where my weakling brother is, but I hope he will be less of a loser when he comes back. Or not. If he disappoints Father, then I will be the Crown Princess.”

Mai studied Azula, her smirk, her shadowed eyes, her posture. She didn’t fool her. She was unhappy, and so was Mai. She could have misunderstood something, but she believed what her friend said about her Mother poisoning her Grandfather or that Zuko was to be killed. But this didn’t explain why Azula confided in her.

„Why did you tell me this?”

„General Takehiko was poisoned yesterday and he was your father’s friend. He had a rash on his neck, and I remembered this.” Azula pushed the scroll in Mai’s hands. „I want you to read this, and memorize the poisons, the symptoms, the cures. I want you to know what to do if your family or even Ty Lee’s family is targeted.” _Or me._ That wasn’t said, but Mai understood it anyway.

She raised her head and looked Azula right in the eyes.

„You’re a good friend and a good sister. Thank you.”

Azula was dismissive again, but she seemed pleased. She left Mai alone to search for Ty Lee and to placate her if she was upset.

The old Azula was faded but Mai saw glimpses of her once in a while, like now. Azula cared, and Mai wanted to be there for her, even when she was scared of her. Maybe they could save their friendship. Maybe they weren’t destined to fall apart. She wished with all her heart that they could be again what they were once.

But first, she had a mission to accomplish. She put the scroll in her sleeve, then left the library heading in the direction of Azula’s voice and Ty Lee’s laughter. She softened her bored expression a bit. Maybe they really would be all right.


End file.
